Virus & Acropolis

This was not my best day.  From feeling a little woozy last night, my respiratory infection from about ten days ago reasserted itself by morning.  Perhaps I caught something from my infected flight companion?  So after breakfast, I made for the neighborhood pharmacy shown below (note the Greek "phi" starts the word, hence "ph"armacy not "f"armacy--my theory anyway).

My drug connection

The helpful pharmacist got me a Greek thermometer, some aspirin, expectorant, and advice for lots of fluids coupled with saline sinus rinse, all of which I took.  I then returned to my hotel, shown below,

Hotel Athenain Callirhoe

and did some reading of a fine book "Salonica:  City of Ghosts" by Mark Mazower.  It's all about Thessalonica, in northeastern Greece, which housed Christians, Ottoman Turks, and Sephardic Jews for many centuries.   There's lots of Whirling Dervishes and theological compromises on the part of all parties.

Somewhat refreshed, I took a short walk to near the Acropolis to take lunch, comprised of hot tea, chicken soup, Greek salad, bread, and water, pictured below.

Sick ward fare

Feeling fortified, I decided to take the fifteen minute walk up to the Acropolis, which was free today.  I had a nice walk with three college students from Chicago and Milwaukee who were studying abroad this term in Spain.  They were good representatives of the US of A.  We all found the Parthenon under heavy construction, shown below.

The Parthenon

I still haven't shaken my ill-fitting, ill-protecting blue hat, featured below, along with the Parthenon.

JMP amidst the Hellenic ruins.

I returned to my room around 2:30, worked on some university business via the internet, worked on my presentation for Corfu, and read some more "Salonica" in the tarty Hotel Lobby, shown below.

Second floor lobby at the Athenian Callirhoe

I took an acceptable dinner of chicken penne pasta in the hotel restaurant, and am about to pack for tomorrow's journey to Corfu.  Just witnessed about two hundred vigorously singing marchers protesting something on the next block.  It was not clear what and was soon past.